MAN GETS PROBATION AFTER TIME IN JAIL IN SEXUAL ASSAULT OF GIRL

San Diego 
One of a group of teenagers accused of sexually assaulting a passed-out 16-year-old girl who was found unconscious in a Lincoln Park neighborhood canyon was placed on probation Thursday after spending four months behind bars.

Raatib Quidar Prince, 19, pleaded guilty to one count of sexual penetration by foreign object of a person under 18. He was arrested in connection with the Nov. 26 incident along with two 17-year-old boys and a 14-year old girl, who were booked into Juvenile Hall on various sexual-assault offenses.

As a result of his plea, Prince was placed on probation for three years and ordered to serve 240 days in county jail. Because he had already served 120 days, with good-behavior credits for another 120, he was expected to be released from custody Thursday night.

Referring to information in court documents, San Diego Superior Court Judge Laura Halgren said the conduct in this case was serious and that the people involved had different levels of culpability, based on their behavior.

With that in mind, the judge said she did not believe that Prince was a danger to the public and that he was not a “predator.” She also noted that Prince took steps after the incident to contact authorities to get help.

Halgren did not order Prince to register as a sex offender.

Deputy District Attorney Karl Husoe had agreed with the Probation Department’s recommendation that Prince be placed on probation and ordered to serve year in jail.

San Diego police have said the victim was with eight or 10 youths who started drinking vodka about 2 p.m. on Nov. 26 in a canyon off 49th Street. The girl passed out about 4 p.m. She was sexually assaulted while she was unconscious.

A passerby noticed the girl in the canyon about 9 p.m. and asked someone with a cellphone at a nearby trolley station to call 911.

Paramedics took the girl to a hospital. She was unconscious close to 20 hours, police said.

Defense attorney Stacie Patterson said in court Thursday that her client’s actions arose out of an unfortunate circumstance that illustrates why minors should not consume alcohol. She also noted that there was no evidence her client committed a forcible act.